Synopsis:

张艾嘉 x 王耀庆 林奕华 x 黃咏诗

"真爱，就像鬼故事，听过的人多，遇过的人少。" —— 众生说

蒲先生原意是要当一位畅销书大作家，但事与愿违，只能随波逐流，经营起一个给人下载的APP，名叫《斋聊》，里面有各种由他幻想出来的美女，让孤家寡人可以把温柔乡随传随到。

然而，被他想像出来的其中一位佳人胡小姐，却似乎比他更了解自己。加上胡小姐的无处不在，使蒲先生疑幻疑真，难道她真有其人，曾经是他的女朋友，妻子，离婚密友，和知音？

角色随身份易转，故事亦跟着胡小姐身世水落石出，而令她怀疑到底是她点化了浪荡子蒲先生，抑或蒲先生渡化了道行不够的她？

这一男一女是缘是冤，全发生在一家过客络驿不绝的大酒店，叫「聊斋」。

迷惘的人 x 执著的鬼 x 善变的狐

十年前，在《华丽上班族之生活与生存》中，王耀庆饰演的大伟是在无间道里的鬼，张艾嘉饰演的张威是在十字路口的人。当他们相遇，就形成了不可改变的宿命。十年后，张威跟大伟已不可能重逢，但张艾嘉跟王耀庆却又再一次相遇在《聊斋》里。不同的是，他们的人生将会有很多选择，因为在人与鬼之外，还有另一种可能：百变的狐。当张艾嘉是狐狸时，她的道行会不会毀于王耀庆的手上？当王耀庆是狐狸时，他的尾巴会不会被张艾嘉抓住？又或当狐狸对上狐狸，谁会是他们的第三者？是人还是鬼？

"我为什么要创作一部叫《聊斋》的舞台剧？因为，现代人越来越'怕'跟人'聊天'了。因为，我们越来越怕'人'了。因为，在情感世界里，越来越多人活得像'鬼'：把黑夜当白天，视付出为畏途，以致心态上很像鬼故事中的'鬼'：要存在，就要'採阳补阴'。怕'人'，但又要在'人'身上得到力量，'鬼'与'人'的角力，较真，就在'心理上'斗智，而更复杂的，是他们中间还有第三者：不怕'聊天'（去探索人心）的狐。"
– 林奕华

A theatrical presentation on modern relationships and ghost stories, inspired by the classical Chinese literary collection Liaozhai Zhiyi (Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio).

A wise man once said, "True love is like ghosts—you hear of them a lot, but few are those who actually come across one".

A writer, Mr Pu, wanted to be a bestselling author but could never achieve his aspiration. As things did not turn out as he planned, he couldn't help but move along with the flow and started earning a living by developing an app named "Zhailiao", in which he invented various types of beautiful women that lonely single souls could chat with.

However, he gradually became obsessed with one of his creations, Ms Hu ("Ms Fox"), who seemed to know him better than he himself did. Over time, with Ms Hu's omnipresence, Mr Pu began to suspect whether she really existed. The roles changed along with their identities and the story gradually unraveled Ms Hu's mystery.

Whatever happened between this man and this woman, be it love or hate, it all happened in a busy hotel named "Liaozhai".

Ten years ago, award-winning director and actress Sylvia Chang first met popular actor David Wang in the play Design for Living. In Why We Chat?, they meet again. But this time, what are they? Restless humans? Relentless ghosts? Shape-shifting fox spirits?

Directed by award-winning director Edward Lam and written by the highly sought-after playwright-actress Wong Wing Sze, Why We Chat? is a lyrical and romantic discourse that lets us gaze deep into ourselves, and into each other, to see how human we truly are.

"These days, we have so many ways of communicating with each other, but have people become afraid of engaging in real conversations? We float through the day, and come alive only at night. We take what we want from each other, but we resist giving ourselves to others. We constantly battle our emotional needs with the physical realities of everyday life. Are we becoming less human and more like ghosts? What if the fox spirit truly exists, a being who can see our innermost wants and desires and is able to hold all these up to the light?"
Edward Lam